Kyle Kerr

Planning For The Future

11/9/09 | Business | 2 Comments

I may be getting a little ahead of myself, but I’ve already started planning the marketing campaign for my first novel, Love, Simon.  I don’t have an agent, and the book certainly doesn’t have a publisher, but I can’t help thinking about how it’s going to be presented to the world.  How will everyone know what I’ve written?

The fact of the matter is that most publishing houses no longer have the resources to promote every book they release.  It’s unfortunate, but in this climate we have to be grateful just being published.

This means that the brunt of the marketing will fall onto my shoulders.  I don’t begrudge my future publisher this; I take on the mantle willingly!  Besides, I’ve got a slight ace in the hole… my degree in Marketing.

Not that that’s going to help me IMMENSELY.  I mean, the world is filled with a many and varied people.  But hopefully it’ll give me an edge.

There are plenty of options for the marketing savvy.  You have to have persistence, a little cash (for some things, unfortunately), and a lot of imagination.  Not only can your book get lost in the bookstore with all the new releases coming out each year, but your voice can get drowned out in a sea of other writers in the same boat as you are, all trying to find those readers who’ll get them on the bestseller lists and on to their next book.

That’s where the imagination comes in.

The internet is the newest frontier in marketing.  It’s called Viral Marketing.  Websites, blogs, Facebook/Twitter pages.  Everyone’s got one or all of these.  I do.  And you’d be stupid not to.  Facebook is one of the most visited sites on the internet, and Twitter is growing rapidly (MySpace is SO 2000).  In fact, my website blog, my FB page, and Twitter account are all linked.  Whenever I post a Tweet, it updates my FB status.  And the moment I hit SUBMIT on this Journal entry, it’ll be sent to both my Twitter AND FB accounts.  This way, people can follow me in a number of ways, whichever way they’re most comfortable with.  Twitter, FB, RSS feeds, and by email.  I’m everywhere I can possibly be to get to more potential readers.

Right now it’s mostly friends, other writers, and family members who follow me, but I know one day I’ll have readers, and I’m building up my archives of content for when they come.

Make friends with other writers, both bestsellers and beginners.  The more connections you make, the better you’ll be.  Share your friends and your resources with one another.  When one of you sells a book, do guest posts on the other’s blog.  If you help your friends, they’ll help you in return.  We’re all in this together!

Find ways to keep your readers involved.  Hold contests (everyone likes freebies!  Especially if they’re books!), answer questions, let them know you appreciate them.  You can’t just post to your blog and not respond.  They’ll keep coming back because they’ll feel involved, and you need to keep your name fresh in their mind over the year(s) it takes you to get out your next book.

But you have to think out of the box as well.  Now, I’m not going to give out all of my ideas (sorry!), but you have to do things in ways that no one else has thought of yet, or at least in ways that haven’t been oversaturated yet.  People remember interesting and new.

Finally, I’m going to say… THINK FREE.

Talk to your publishers about giving out free e-versions of your book.  I’ve downloaded a number of these and, the ones I like (I usually only read a chapter or two), I buy.  I’m not about to sit and read 80-100k word books on my computer, but it’s enough to get me hooked.  AND, I can send it to my friends to try and get THEM hooked.  Some people will be satisfied reading an entire book on their computer, but the majority that like it will buy it, and they’ll be more willing to spend money on it when they remember you tried to give it to them for free in the first place.

So, if you haven’t started thinking about your marketing plan, maybe it’s about time you did.  It wouldn’t hurt to have some ideas in mind when you sit down with your future publisher.  And it’s never too early to start recruiting readers.

And I’ll try to follow my own advice and keep the fresh content coming!

Until next…

Kyle W. Kerr